Custom Metal Designs
Custom Metal Designs is a family-owned automation integrator and custom metal fabricator, founded in 1972 in Oakland, Florida, designing and manufacturing conveyors, material handling equipment, robotics integration, and metal fabrication for container/packaging, food and beverage, and industrial manufacturers in North America.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1972
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Custom Metal Designs does
Custom Metal Designs (CMD) is a privately held, family-controlled automation integrator and custom metal fabricator founded in 1972 by Saul Grimes and headquartered at 921 W Oakland Ave, Oakland, Florida. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and services integrated turnkey automation solutions for industrial manufacturers, with core capabilities spanning conveyor systems (cable, mat top, table top), material handling equipment (annealing units, baggers, box loaders, debaggers/destackers, palletizers, side grip elevators), robotics integration (cobots, autonomous mobile robots, custom end-of-arm tools), and metal fabrication services (laser cutting, machining, CNC punch press, robotic welding, forming, vendor-managed inventory). Its primary end-market is the container and packaging industry — including plastic bottles, pails, paint cans, egg cartons, and cases — with secondary exposure to food and beverage, building products, tissue, Florida theme parks, aerospace, and industrial machinery.
The underlying technology relies on industrial PLC/HMI/VFD control systems, servo-driven mechanisms, and third-party robotics platforms (Universal Robots, Fetch Robotics, Yaskawa), rather than proprietary AI/ML. Notable in-house engineered features include true center-motorized adjustable guide rails on cable conveyors, a next-generation automatic debagger/destacker rated at up to three bags per minute, and an annealing unit for high-density polyethylene bottles with variable-speed conveyor and water-cooled side rails. The business holds an NQA ISO 9001 Quality Management certification and operates with approximately 90+ employees under 8 supervisors, generating approximately $14M in annual revenue.
CMD makes money through quote-based custom equipment sales, hardware sales of manufactured spare parts, recurring aftermarket revenue from 24-hour repair and on-site installation services, and contract metal fabrication. Pricing is custom per project with multi-year enterprise contracts, and there is no public price list. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales: trained sales engineers conduct on-site facility analyses, design custom solutions, and submit proposals, with the company claiming completed projects across five continents while concentrating on North America. Distribution is direct only, with marketing amplified through industry events, the company website and blog, and active social channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), plus referral influence through partnerships with FloridaMakes, the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida, MIST, and the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.
Custom Metal Designs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Custom Metal Designs
- Legal name
- Custom Metal Designs
- Website
- https://custommetaldesigns.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1972
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Custom Metal Designs is a family-owned automation integrator and custom metal fabricator, founded in 1972 in Oakland, Florida, designing and manufacturing conveyors, material handling equipment, robotics integration, and metal fabrication for container/packaging, food and beverage, and industrial manufacturers in North America.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Custom Metal Designs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Automation Equipment
- NAICS
- Packaging Machinery Manufacturing (333993), Machine Shops (332710)
- SIC
- Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550), Sheet Metal Work (3444)
- akta.pro primary industry
- End-of-Line Integration & Packaging Line Systems (IMAHAOAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Conveying, Feeding & Accumulation Systems (Packaging Lines) (IMAHAOAK), Bagging, Pouching & Sachet Packaging Machines (IMALAOAJ), Capping, Sealing & Closing Machines (IMAHAOAG)
Keywords
Where Custom Metal Designs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Custom Metal Designs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Custom Equipment Manufacturing and Sales: Design, manufacture, and sale of custom automation solutions including conveyor systems, robotics integration, material handling equipment, and metal fabrication products
- Spare Parts Sales: Manufactured and stocked material handling equipment parts sold to customers with turnaround times ranging from same day to three weeks
- Installation and Repair Services: 24-hour repair services, full-service onsite installation, maintenance, and cabling/splicing services for equipment they produce and third-party equipment
- Contract Fabrication: Contract manufacturing of metal parts including laser cutting, machining, CNC punch press, robotic welding, forming, and vendor-managed inventory services
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom automation solutions - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Custom Metal Designs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Custom Metal Designs designs, manufactures, installs, and services custom automation solutions for manufacturing and packaging operations. The company's portfolio includes conveyor systems (cable, mat top, table top), baggers, debaggers, palletizers, box loaders, annealing units, and side grip elevators/lowerators, complemented by robotics integration (cobots, autonomous mobile robots, custom end-of-arm tooling) and turnkey metal fabrication (laser cutting, machining, CNC punch press, robotic welding, forming).
Product overview
Custom Metal Designs is a manufacturer, automation integrator, and service provider offering integrated turnkey solutions for material handling and metal fabrication. Their product portfolio centers on material handling equipment including annealing units, baggers (semi-automatic and fully-automatic tube/sheet film variants), box loaders, various conveyor systems (cable, mat top, table top), debaggers (automatic, semi-automatic, manual), palletizers, and side grip elevators/lowerators. These are complemented by robotics integration services (collaborative robots, autonomous mobile robots, custom end-of-arm tools) for applications including palletizing, product handling, wrapping, inspection, depalletizing, pick and place, and case packing. The company also provides metal fabrication services (laser cutting, machining, CNC punch press, robotic welding, forming) and comprehensive installation, maintenance, repair, and spare parts services. Founded in 1972, the company serves industries including food, beverage, container, building products, tissue products, theme parks, aerospace, and industrial machinery.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Conveyor Systems
Quantifiable outcome
- Increased productivity through automation solutions
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Custom Metal Designs
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Custom Metal Designs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature6 records
Custom Metal Designs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Universal RobotscoreRobotics partnership providing collaborative robot (cobot) solutions for working alongside human workforce to safely and effectively increase productivity, efficiency, and throughput
- Fetch RoboticscoreAutonomous mobile robot partnership for pallet movement throughout factories, optimizing workflow, improving productivity, limiting employee injury, and reducing costs
- YaskawacoreRobotics manufacturer partnership providing industrial robot solutions for palletizing, product handling, wrapping, inspection, depalletizing, pick and place, and case packing applications
- Florida MakescoreFlorida manufacturing industry association supporting innovation and technology advancement. Ray Aguerrevere serves as Vice Chair of FloridaMakes Board of Directors
- Manufacturers Association of Central Florida (MACF)coreRegional manufacturing association with Ray Aguerrevere serving as Treasurer on the board, supporting domestic manufacturing industry advancement
- West Orange Chamber of CommerceminorLocal chamber partnership supporting business community connections in West Orange County, Florida
- MISTminor
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Custom Metal Designs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Concept Systems Inc: Industrial automation integrator with robotics, packaging, and material handling capabilities serving food & beverage and consumer products manufacturers. Similar custom engineering and integrator-to-OEM business model.
- ESS Technologies: Packaging and material handling automation integrator specializing in container handling, case packing, and robotic palletizing — directly overlapping CMD's core end-of-line offering.
- Motion Controls Robotics: US-based robotics and automation integrator serving packaging, palletizing, and material handling customers. Closely comparable to CMD in service offering, customer profile (mid-market manufacturers), and project-based custom engineering model.
- Peak Robotics: Small-to-mid robotics systems integrator focused on palletizing, case packing, and material handling — directly comparable size and target customer to CMD.
- Douglas Machine: Custom automation and packaging equipment manufacturer serving consumer products companies with case packing, tray loading, and end-of-line systems — directly overlapping CMD's container-handling portfolio.
Broad incumbents
- Sidel: Global packaging equipment OEM serving beverage, food, and container-handling customers. Comparable product categories (conveying, palletizing, end-of-line) but with global installed-base scale that dwarfs CMD.
- ProMach: Large packaging machinery conglomerate with multiple product brands across filling, labeling, palletizing, and end-of-line systems. Overlaps CMD's portfolio across several categories but at much larger scale.
- BR Automation (Brothers Research): Mid-tier automation systems integrator for packaging and material handling applications. Comparable custom engineering business model but broader end-market exposure.
- JR Automation (Hitachi): Much larger automation integrator (acquired by Hitachi) providing custom robotic and material handling solutions across multiple industries. Overlaps CMD on robotics integration and end-of-line automation but at vastly greater scale and global footprint.
Emerging players
- Colborne Foodbotics: Niche robotic and automation integrator focused on food and beverage packaging applications — overlapping CMD's food/beverage customer segment with comparable custom integration approach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Custom Metal Designs social profiles
Digital presenceCustom Metal Designs compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Custom Metal Designs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Custom Metal Designs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Custom Metal Designs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Custom Metal Designs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Custom Metal Designs
What does Custom Metal Designs do?
Custom Metal Designs designs, manufactures, installs, and services custom automation solutions for manufacturing and packaging operations. The company's portfolio includes conveyor systems (cable, mat top, table top), baggers, debaggers, palletizers, box loaders, annealing units, and side grip elevators/lowerators, complemented by robotics integration (cobots, autonomous mobile robots, custom end-of-arm tooling) and turnkey metal fabrication (laser cutting, machining, CNC punch press, robotic welding, forming).
Is Custom Metal Designs a public or private company?
Custom Metal Designs is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Custom Metal Designs founded?
Custom Metal Designs was founded in 1972. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Custom Metal Designs based?
Custom Metal Designs is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Custom Metal Designs make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Custom Equipment Manufacturing and Sales are the primary driver. The others are spare Parts Sales, installation and Repair Services and contract Fabrication.
Who are Custom Metal Designs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Concept Systems Inc, ESS Technologies, Motion Controls Robotics, Peak Robotics and Douglas Machine. Broad incumbents are Sidel, ProMach, BR Automation (Brothers Research) and JR Automation (Hitachi). Colborne Foodbotics is listed as an emerging player.
Does Custom Metal Designs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Custom Metal Designs.
What industry is Custom Metal Designs in?
Custom Metal Designs's product category is Industrial Automation Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAOAN, End-of-Line Integration & Packaging Line Systems, with a secondary code of IMAHAOAK, Conveying, Feeding & Accumulation Systems (Packaging Lines). Its NAICS code is 333993 and its SIC code is 3550.